Kitsune

Kitsune, the fox of Japanese mythology, is a shapeshifting spirit associated with the Inari deity of harvests, commerce, and fertility. Foxes appear across centuries of Japanese visual culture — on Inari shrine ema, in Edo-period woodblock prints, and in the performing arts — depicted as messengers, tricksters, or women in disguise. Varaillon's mokuhanga interpretation likely renders the kitsune in a partially transformed state or as a stylized animal form, with the water-based ink system allowing subtle shifts in color that suggest the fox's legendary ability to alter appearance. Multiple carved matrices would separate the amber and white tones of fox fur from atmospheric ground. The intersection of mythology and daily life in the subject listing indicates that the image may situate the fox within a contemporary or quotidian setting, following a lineage of prints in which supernatural figures intrude on ordinary scenes.